Related: Alito confirmed as 110th US Supreme Court justice

   

US president George W. Bush shakes hands with Samuel Alito in Washington on Jan. 31, 2006. The Senate confirmed Alito's nomination of justice of the Supreme Court by a vote of 58-42.

 WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (Xinhuanet) -- Samuel Alito was sworn in on Tuesday as the 110th justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, after he was confirmed earlier in the day by the Senate.

    Alito, 55, who was replacing retired Justice Sandra Day O' Connor, the first female justice at the high court, was sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts at the Supreme Court. He would be ceremonially sworn in a second time at the White House on Wednesday.

    The Senate confirmed Alito's nomination by a vote of 58-42, with senators largely casting their votes on a party line. All but one Republicans voted for the nomination while most Democrats voted against it.

    "Sam Alito is a brilliant and fair-minded judge who strictly interprets the Constitution and laws and does not legislate from the bench," President George W. Bush said after the vote.

    He said Alito was "a man of deep character and integrity" and would "make all Americans proud as a justice on our highest court."

    A U.S. appellate judge since 1990, Alito was not Bush's first choice for the job. Bush first tapped Roberts for the seat on the Supreme Court bench after O'Connor announced her retirement in July last year, and later picked White House counsel Harriet Miers after Roberts was chosen for the top seat following the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist.

    Bush selected Alito for the Supreme Court seat in late October last year only after Miers withdrew her nomination amid mounting criticism from conservatives and her apparent failure to get enough support at the Senate.

    Alito was expected to align himself with the court's conservative bloc and could affect the outcome of votes on a number of social issues such as abortion, assisted suicide, campaign finance law, the death penalty and civil rights, unlike his predecessor, O'Connor, who was considered a more moderate justice with a key moderate swing vote on these issues.

    With Alito sworn in, O'Connor's retirement became official. She was to start teaching a class at the University of Arizona law school later in the week. Enditem